The History of Reuge's World-famous Luxury Music Boxes

14th Century: The history of mechanical music begins in the Flanders. An ingenious bell ringer invents a cylinder with pins that operates cans, which then hit the bells.

1865: Charles Reuge, a watchmaker from the Val-de-Travers, settles in Sainte-Croix and begins making pocket watches with musical movements.

1870: A German inventor creates a music box with discs, allowing an easier and more frequent change of tunes.

1886: The son of Charles Reuge, Albert, opens a music box counter in Sainte-Croix, thus evolving from a basic workshop to a real company.

1929: The third generation of the Reuge dynasty, Guido, Albert, and Henri, invents the Kandahar ski binding, which helps the company overcome the wartime economic crisis.

1930: The Reuge factory, rue des Rasses in Sainte-Croix (still in use today), is built.

1960: Reuge acquires and manufactures the first machines that allow the rationalization of labor. Guido begins again the manufacturing of large musical pieces, persuaded that the music box has a future in the luxury gift market. Reuge becomes a world leader in deluxe musical movements. Reuge buys Bontems in Paris, and takes over the manufacturing and marketing of the mechanical singing birds.

1977-1991: Reuge acquires competitors, including Eschle, singing birds maker (1977), Mélodies SA, manufacturer of music boxes with Thorens discs (1985), Lador, 18-note movements maker (1986), and Cuendet, producer of cuckoo movements (1991).

1988: Reuge is taken over by a group of Swiss investors who develop and modernize the company.

2000: Reuge buys its main box supplier, Arte Intarsio, in Italy, thus controlliing the complete manufacturing process of the music box movements.

2004: Reuge holds the worldwide monopoly on the luxury music box, singing birds, and musical pocket watch markets.

2007: Reuge repositions the brand in luxury production: the end of various product lines and a reorganization of the elements of the marketing mix.